Following Blogs: A Quick Little "Reader" How-To

A break from my regular style postings for some technical advice: I often have family and friends ask me about how to keep up with the many blogs and sites that they are visiting everyday, so I figured a quick "how to" might be helpful.

Are you bookmarking every blog you  like and visiting it every day? If so,  there is a better way!!

Using a Reader:

RSS readers allow you to subscribe to feeds from sites  and read them from a central location instead of visiting each individual website on a daily basis.  (Saves time and puts all the content you're interested in, in one place!)   Most sites will have a little orange RSS logo or a link that says "Subscribe to feed" that allows you to easily add that site to your "Reader" of choice.    I use Google Reader  because I'm always on gmail and that way I can pull up my reader on any device (personal computer, work laptop, iPad, iPhone etc)  I also love how it allows you to label, file and "star" articles so you can reference back to them (I especially found that useful pre-Pinterest).  If you use Microsoft Outlookto manage email, you can also subscribe to RSS feeds so they pop up right in your Inbox. This is great if you want to read messages offline. (Microsoft Outlook RSS info here)

Here is a quick step by step on how to set up your favorite blogs on Google Reader:

1.  Find a blog (uh.... Style-Edition.com.. duh)

2.  Find & Click on the RSS/Subscribe to Feed link.  With some browsers, this takes you to a page where you can select your reader.  Here you can select "Google Reader"

3.  If you can't find th RSS link and/or it doesn't give you the option to select a reader,  Don't fret!  Google Reader is smart.   Just copy the URL of the blog  and click "Subscribe" (image below)  Smarty-pants Google will automatically find the feed and add it to your Google Reader list.

   

 4.  Now, you should be all set up!  Instead of using a bunch of bookmarks etc, just go to Google Reader everyday  to see the new articles from your favorite sites.

Bonus:  If you follow a wide variety of blogs/sites (for example I have fashion, decor,  news, work-related sites etc)  You can creat "Tags" for each them to file them separately. 

Bloglovin:

Bloglovin' is another easy to use  "reader" to follow your favorite blogs.  I prefer Google Reader, except for when I'm on my iPhone.   Bloglovin has a great, easy to use app that allows you to read blogs on your mobile device.   Setting up Bloglovin is super easy.

1. Create a Bloglovin' account

2.  Find the Bloglovin link on your favorite blogs

3.  This link should take you directly to Bloglovin, and as long as you're logged in, you should just have to click "Follow" and it will be added to your list.

4.  Either head on over to Bloglovin.com or download the app, and then you can use the site to read all the new articles an aggregate every day.

I hope that helps!

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PS - Here are the Style-Edition links:

Style-Edition Blog RSS Feed

Follow Style-Edtion on Bloglovin

Top 5 Designer iPad Cases (That Double as Clutches)

 When I bought my iPad, I picked up a sunny orange case from Apple. However, in recent travels I noticed that while it does a great job of protecting the screen,  my iPad could use a little bit more protection when I toss it in my carry on.  In shopping around,  I've noticed a bunch of cases are pretty enough that I would happily carry them out as a purse or clutch too! Plus given their prices,  I would feel better getting double use out of them.

Here are the top 5 cases/clutches that I'm currently coveting:

1.  Capulet London "Alison" leather clutch ($340)  - I love the beautiful color of this calfskin leather!

2.  J.J. Boyles "Penny Loafer" leather iPad case in antique brown ($185) - The darling shoe inspired details make this a bit whimsical, but it's still classic enough to carry every day.

3. Marc Jacobs quilted leather iPad bag ($495) - With the look of classic Chanel,  this chain strap would make it as easy to pull out this bag for an evening out as it would be to throw in your carry on.

 4. Beyza Red Leather iPad Sleeve ($117)  - This would be the perfect pop of color to a simple black and white outfit. (or if you don't like red, it comes in black and tan too)

5. Michael Michael Kors "snake effect" leather iPad case ($130)- This snake skin clutch is for one glamorous techie :)

 

Bonus:  This Yves Saint Laurent case is stunning, but at double the price of an iPad ($795)  I'm not sure it's worth the investment.

New Toy!

My iPad 2 finally came in the mail last week! As expected, I love it.  In a combination of all things wonderful: here a is snapshot of me playing with it last week, on a warm evening in San Francisco (that never happens), while watching the sunset on the roof with wine, thai food, and good friends :)

It was a completely frivoluous purchase, but I love it!  It's perfect for all of the online browsing that i do (If you haven't figured out, thats a lot) 

Plus, it makes an awesome reading experience for all of my favorite online magazines.

Have you checked out Lonny, Matchbook, and Rue ? 

They are beautiful, fun magazines. And, I love that with the online magazine experience, you can click directly on an object you're interested in and shop for it!   No need to tear a page of something you like or,  check out the "where to shop" section of the back (remember when you used to have to do that to find a piece you liked?  And, then you had to CALL the stores? hah... )